Just about every street video part has at least one or two lines in there to help coincide with the mellower verses of the song or to fill up time in the part. Or maybe some guys are just really good at stringing together awesome tricks back to back like that. Regardless, skaters need to fill in the flatground space between obstacles so you end up with your very common mid-line tricks. (By mid-line tricks I'm keeping it contained to flatground fliptricks to fill the space in between stairs, ledges, rails, etc. Basically a flip trick that doesn't involve grinds/slides or a significant drop.) Common tricks are obviously the comfortable and easy-on-the-eyes 360 flip, the nollie heelflip, nollie kickflip, fakie kickflip, and even a lot of backside/frontside heelflip/kickflip variations to switch stances without simply changing the pushing foot. Those ones are seen a bit too much these days with just about any street skater to the point where they're so common they almost feel like time-occupying filler tricks. Of course there are dudes that can make these tricks look beautiful through pop or just a stylish flick, but nonetheless, a surprising out of the norm trick in the middle of a line really sticks out. Just as your mind is about to zone out in preparation for another tre flip before or after some flatground pushing, there are those unique mid-line tricks that jump out and startle you, making the line much more memorable.
This is exactly what will be looked at this week. I may be missing some lines as I go, but the next five days will cover the ones that stick out the most to me now.
And here are a few extras that deserve some mentioning:
Kevin Phelps recently dropped a new part via Thrasher that was filled with some crazy clips and awesome East Coast skating. Click on the link and you'll see one line that clearly stuck out to me when I first watched the part. After starting the line with a stylish fakie 360 flip, Kevin comes through with a half cab late back foot flip that I totally did not see coming. I thought a half cab flip was surely on its way, but the late flip worked very well with Kevin's nonchalance.
Sewa Kroetkov does something similar in This Is Not A Test. At the pretty well known playground benches, he hits one bench and then sets up as if he were to pop a super high switch heelflip. Nope. Instead he does what I'd say is now his signature trick (or at least a variation of it): switch ollie late kickflip. Considering that you usually see the nollie version, this is definitely a trick you wouldn't expect. If the trick itself isn't shocking enough, the height and cleanliness with which he does it should remedy that. (He also does the nollie version at the same benches at 1:16.)
Similar to Sewa getting two lines at that bench spot, Mike Mo Capaldi hits up a schoolyard in Fully Flared with a rad line - ollie late back foot varial flip, nollie back heel, then a switch kickflip down a set of stairs - and then revisits the same schoolyard in Pretty Sweet with a very memorable line. Starting off with a fakie big heel (always a sweet trick), Mike Mo sets up for what looks like a tre flip at first but I can only imagine will be something wizardly, and effortlessly flicks his impossible late flip. Then he closes with a frontside flip down the set. But the impossible late flip is something I doubt will be seen mid-line from anyone else, or even in a part at all to be fair. Seeing Mike Mo implement his signature flatground trick into a line for his part was quite satisfying. And even though the trick from Mo himself isn't that surprising to see, actually seeing it mid-line is not something you'd expect.
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